Ministers facing losing battle to convince parents
By Philip Johnston, Home Affairs Editor
(Filed: 09/02/2002)

THE Government could be fighting a losing battle to convince many parents that it is safe for their child to have the MMR vaccine.

The striking finding of the YouGov.com poll for The Telegraph is that most people take a reasonable view of the safety of most vaccines and are prepared to make a judgment based on the evidence before them.

But they clearly do not like to be denied choice. The era has long gone when people merely did as the state told them, even if Mr Blair has not realised this.

Given the adverse publicity on the MMR jab in recent weeks it might be surprising that 72 per cent of parents with under-fives or those planning to have children think it is "completely safe", "very safe" or "quite safe". But nearly 20 per cent think it is "not very safe", "very unsafe" or even "very dangerous".

By any measure, a public vaccination programme must be in jeopardy with so much suspicion. If one parent in five refused to have the MMR, the Government would be well below the so-called "herd immunity" levels achieved by a high take-up of a particular vaccination.

The health department has set a 95 per cent target for MMR take-up. Anything less than 85 per cent is considered likely to pose a risk of spreading measles.

Yet those concerned about the safety of MMR are not parents who do not like a needle anywhere near their child. They do not hold the same view of other vaccinations. For instance, only four per cent think whooping cough vaccine is unsafe.

Nor can the Government blame the media or the Conservatives for stirring parents' fears. More than half the respondents said they did not trust what they read in newspapers or saw on television.

Eighty two per cent said Iain Duncan Smith's recent intervention, denounced as opportunism by Mr Blair, had made "no difference" to their views. However, Mr Blair's refusal to say whether his baby son, Leo, has had the jab seems have unsettled parents.

YouGov asked (see graphic): "Some people say because Mr Blair has refused to say whether or not his baby Leo has had the MMR vaccine, he has helped undermine confidence in MMR. Has his decision not to talk about his own decision made you personally less confident about MMR?"

Nearly 40 per cent of respondents said the Prime Minister's stand had made them less confident and 62 per cent said it made no difference.

Mr Blair has dropped several hints in recent days that Leo has had the injection, but Downing Street again refused yesterday to say outright whether this was the case.

His officials are worried that once the Prime Minister makes a comment about this aspect of his son's health he will have set a precedent for future inquiries.

But the poll suggests that Mr Blair's understandable reluctance to divulge such details would be irrelevant if the Government offered people what they clearly want: a choice.

YouGov asked: "Do you think that the Department of Health should offer only the MMR vaccination on the NHS or both MMR and three separate vaccinations?"

Seventy-four per cent said they wanted the choice. Only a quarter of respondents said MMR alone should be on offer. If given a choice, a small majority would continue to use MMR. Without it, 31 per cent were prepared pay £250 for a single vaccine.

YouGov surveyed 2,605 respondents online on Feb 7 and 8. The sample has been weighted to reflect the demographic profile of the UK 18-plus population.